Make a Difference with a Gift to the Library Foundation

Dear Library Friend,

Gifts from supporters such as you make a wonderful difference to everyone who uses The Urbana Free Library. Once again, we are asking for your support in our annual fund-raising campaign. And this year, we have a special need for your help.

This past July, the Foundation Board took a bold step to secure the library’s future growth by purchasing the Webber property, on the south side of Green Street at Race Street, for a price of $360,000. We were able to pay for this, in part, thanks to a $100,000 bequest from the Elizabeth Alexander estate as well as other Foundation reserves. However, we will still be carrying $75,000 in financing that will be due in five years.

The purchase of the Webber property gives the library future expansion options that simply didn’t exist beforehand. For example, the lot can eventually be used for patron parking needs while the library expansion itself can take place on the main block. All this is very tentative, but we think most residents can see why the Foundation Board felt the need to act quickly when the Webber property became available.

This comes a year after the Foundation spent $25,000 updating the library’s website, urbanafreelibrary.org, and $2,700 to support UFLive!, the library’s concert series during fiscal year 2013.

All this spending, vital to the library’s future, has unfortunately left Foundation reserves at their lowest level in recent years. We frankly can’t play as big a role in the library’s future unless those reserves are replenished. We need your help.

We thank you for your past support and hope you can give generously to this year’s campaign.